Career ready?

Abstract

UnclassifiedOECD EDUCATION WORKING PAPERS SERIES OECD Working Papers should not be reported as representing the official views of the OECD or of its member countries. The opinions expressed and arguments employed herein are those of the author(s).Working Papers describe preliminary results or research in progress by the author(s) and are published to stimulate discussion on a broad range of issues on which the OECD works. Comments on Working Papers are welcome, and may be sent to the Directorate for Education and Skills, OECD,

Beyond college for all: Portrait of rapid and successful school-to-work transitions among vulnerable youth.

“…Beyond socio-demographics, one antecedent during adolescence stood out as a predictor of the Career Job pathway: working during high school. Holding a job during secondary education appears to be beneficial, echoing results found in prior research associating adolescent employment with the acquisition of skills and knowledge valuable for future job prospects (Mann et al, 2020; Staff et al, 2015). Furthermore, being introduced early to the workforce and experiencing different tasks and responsibilities might help youth identify the kind of jobs they would like to occupy later, and start to create networks of coworkers that might support their future job search (Arbex et al, 2019; Glitz, 2017; Thouin et al, in press).…”

Navigating an Uncertain Future

“…The importance of career information and guidance in the preparation for the school-to-work transition is increasingly recognized (Mann et al, 2020) and international organizations including the OECD, the European Commission, the European Training Foundation, the International Labor Organisation and UNESCO are emphasizing its relevance and benefits for inclusive development and a fairer society (Cedefop, 2021). There is however still little empirical evidence regarding the role of school-based career preparation activities in supporting career development or more generally the contextual antecedents (such as gender, ethnicity, parental background or region) of career adaptability among young people (Hirschi & Koen, 2021).…”

Thinking about the future

“…Routinely, lower achieving students (who can be expected to join the labour market earlier than their higher achieving peers) are less likely to have undertaken such a reflection. An example of introspective self-reported questionnaires being integrated into practice is available from World of Work 19 , a US programme designed to expose young people to career education and career options continuously throughout their K-12 education (ages [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17]. Central to the World of Work approach is RIASECa set of six occupational themes (Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional) designed to help learners discover careers related to their strengths, interests and personality traits.…”

“…While the first surveys began in 1995, participants have been recruited from Australian schools that have taken part in PISA since 2003 (Y03). LSAY is managed by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research and conducted by Wallis Social Research on behalf of the Australian Government Department of Education, Skills and Employment 7.…”

“…More information is available at: https://www.tree.unibe.ch/data/index_eng.html7 More information is available at: https://www.lsay.edu.au/research/about…”